The Beginning of Darkness
by SnowySilence
Summary: Complete: It's seven years after the events of My Mate. And a dark shadow approaches...
1. Part 1

Part 1  
  
~*~*~  
  
The rabbit's ear twitched as it sensed a predator approach, but by that time, it was too late. The sharpened dagger entered between its ribs and pierced its heart.  
  
With a whoop, the seven year old jump up from his hiding place. He grinned over at the tree where he knew his father was perched. Sure enough, Inuyasha dropped out of his tree and walked over to where the rabbit was.  
  
"Not bad, Kiyoshi. It died instantly. No suffering." He looked over at his son. "You've been practicing, haven't you?"  
  
"Yeah. Of course, only when Mom's not anywhere near. She would skin me alive if she knew I was still practicing when she told me 'no'." Kiyoshi looked up at his father, his violet eyes sparkling with pride. "I've been hitting dead center on the bull's eye."  
  
Inuyasha grinned at Kiyoshi. "You know your mother is going to flay you when she finds out. I'm not going to take the blame for this one."  
  
"That's okay, Dad. I've been working on that. I figure Mom will be so pleased that I was able to catch a rabbit all by myself, that she won't be mad that I practiced." He puffed out his chest. "And besides, If she thinks that I need to be punished, I'll accept that. I did disobey her, after all. I want to show her I'm a man now."  
  
Inuyasha grinned. "Okay Mr. I'm-A-Man-Now, how many more rabbits do you think you can catch in an hour? Your mother will want to start cooking then."  
  
"Uh, I thought you said we were gonna hunt for a deer or something. My rabbit was for jerky."  
  
"Miroku, Sango and the kids are coming over for dinner and I thought it would be nice if you were the one to provide the main course tonight, since you can hunt now."  
  
Kiyoshi's face lit up. He started to count on his fingers how many rabbits he would need. "One for you, Mom, Aiko, Me, Uncle Miroku, Aunt Sango, and four for the trips and the kids to share. So we need ten. Nine more. I can do that!" With a grin, Kiyoshi soundlessly headed further into the woods.  
  
~*~*~  
  
An hour later, Inuyasha and Kiyoshi walked into the yard in front of their house, each carrying a pole that bared six rabbits apiece. Aiko, who had been practicing with her staff, looked up at them. Her face broke into a big grin, and her golden eyes twinkled as she ran up to father and son.  
  
"You have so many rabbits! Which one did you get, Kiyoshi?" She looked at the two poles that the twelve rabbits hung from.  
  
"All of them." Kiyoshi straightened his back. "I'm providing dinner tonight."  
  
"Oh, Kiyoshi! I'm so proud of you!" She glomped onto her brother, who lost his balance and tumbled onto the ground.  
  
Kiyoshi yelped, then started to laugh. "Aiko! Get off of me! You're squishing me!" Kiyoshi yelled through fits of laughter. Giggling, the little girl climbed off her brother.  
  
"What's the commotion out here?" Kagome came out of the house. Seeing that her husband and son were home, she smiled. "About time. I was wondering if you were going to get back in time for me to start dinner, or if we were going to have to have ramen tonight." She noticed the two poles of rabbits. "I thought you two were going to get a deer?"  
  
"I caught them, Mom! All of them! And they were all clean kills, too!" He stood up and looked her in the eyes, but couldn't suppress the glee from showing on his face. "Sorry, Mom, but I've been practicing with my knives. I know you told me not to, but I wanted to get better at throwing. I'm ready to receive any punishment you think I deserve."  
  
Kagome blinked. She looked over at Inuyasha. He shrugged his shoulders, and then grinned. She was going to have to ask what all this was about.  
  
Clearing her throat, Kagome looked at her son. "I'm proud of you Kiyoshi. This will be plenty for supper tonight. Take the rabbits out back and I want you to help your father to clean them. All of them. That will be your punishment for disobeying me." Of course, Kagome had known Kiyoshi had been practicing with his knives. Inuyasha watched him do it, to make sure he wasn't goofing around. But apparently, Inuyasha hadn't let Kiyoshi know this little fact.  
  
"That's it? Uh, okay! Sure!" He gathered the two poles and carried them to the other side of the house. Aiko trailed behind her brother. As they disappeared around the corner, Kagome looked at her husband.  
  
"What was all of that nonsense about punishment?"  
  
Inuyasha grinned at Kagome. "He doesn't know I've been watching him practice. He thought he was making a decision to practice his knives without our approval. Which to him, makes it an adult decision. I didn't want to destroy his first feelings of being an adult, Kagome. He disobeyed you by practicing his knives, and that means that he needed to pay the price. It doesn't matter that we've known, and thought it was okay, because he chose to accept the consequences, like a man. And that's what he wants you to see him as."  
  
"Oh, for heaven's sake, Inuyasha! He's seven! He's not a man, yet!" Kagome bit her lip. Not her baby. She wasn't going to let him grow up, yet.  
  
"I agree with you. He'll have plenty of time to grow up, but he wants us to treat him like an adult. So give him more responsibilities. He'll want to be a kid again." He walked over and kissed Kagome. "And if you want to, we can always expand the family some more."  
  
"No thank you. Six is enough. Between the twins wanting to be adults, the trips getting out of their terrible two's and going into terrible three's and the baby teething, I'll be insane by the end of the year."  
  
Inuyasha just chuckled and walked to the other side of the house.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Here's the sequal to My Mate! ^_^ Obviously there is more to come, but unlike My Mate, this is all I have so far. Hope you liked part 1. Depending on the reviews I get, I'll write more soon. I still have three other stories to work on, although one can't be shown on Fanfiction.net. But if you want to read it, go to my group! (shameless plug) It's called Binding Souls (gonna have lots of lemons in that one) ^_^ Anyway, Please R/R. ~_~ 


	2. Part 2

A/N: Here is a list of the kids. Their names, ages, sex, who they belong to, and the meaning of their names.  
  
Kiyoshi- 7 - M - I/K - Quiet  
  
Aiko- 7 - F - I/K - Little Love  
  
Misa- 3 - F - I/K - Unknown  
  
Midori- 3 - F - I/K - Green  
  
Mitsuko- 3 - F - I/K - Child of the Light  
  
Teito- 7 mos - M - I/K - Unknown  
  
Naoko - 6 - M - M/S - Honest  
  
Toshihiro - 3 - M - M/S - Wise  
  
Chika - 2 - F - M/S - Wisdom  
  
Part 2  
  
~*~*~  
  
Kagome looked up from her green tea and sighed. "Maybe this wasn't a good idea." She stood up and walked over to the bedroom door and hit it once. The giggling in the next room stopped.  
  
Sango looked at Kagome. "You were the one that said okay when they asked." She smiled at her friend. "I thought a night over with nine kids was a bit much."  
  
"Yes but you live close so if they get out of hand you can pick up your three."  
  
"And disappoint Miroku? Ever since you said yes, he's been acting like a little kid on Christmas. He's been complaining a lot recently that we never have any 'quality' time together." Sango snorted. "Yeah, right. All I have to say is that three kids is enough. If I get pregnant again, he's raising this one on his own."  
  
"If I can handle six, you can handle four."  
  
"You're pregnant?" Miroku walked in from outside and nuzzled his wife's neck. "Well that doesn't add up. We haven't done anything to get you in that condition. Who have you been sneaking around with?"  
  
"You are going to get smacked, Miroku, if you keep that up. No quality time for you if you don't behave." Instantly, Miroku straightened up and moved to sit next to his love.  
  
"I think we should be heading home, now anyway. It's getting late." Miroku took Sango's hand and kissed it.  
  
"Oh, sure. Leave us to handle the munchkins. You better be back early tomorrow morning, Miroku, or so help me, I'm going to drag you back here." Inuyasha walked in from the night and folded his arms.  
  
"Alright, alright. We'll be back early." Miroku stood up and guided Sango out the door. "Goodnight."  
  
"We should be heading to bed now, too, Kagome. It is getting late." Inuyasha closed the door behind his friends and walked over to his beloved. He took Kagome's hand and led her to the bedroom, pausing briefly to hit the door where sounds of giggles were coming from, again.  
  
Four hours later, the sound of a large explosion woke Inuyasha and Kagome. Inuyasha raced outside to see what had happened, while Kagome checked on the children, all of whom were now awake.  
  
Kagome guided the children outside, to keep sight on them. As soon as they were all outside, Kagome saw that Sango and Miroku were already there. Inuyasha was looking in the direction of the villlage and speaking quickly to Miroku.  
  
"Kagome, you and Sango stay here with the munchkins. Inuyasha and I are going to go to the village and help." Miroku spoke softly to avoid alarming the children.  
  
"Not a chance. You're going to need us both. I can sense there are demons in the village. A lot of them." Kagome looked over at the children. "Kiyoshi."  
  
Kiyoshi, who had been listening in on their little conversation, jumped. He walked quickly over to his mother.  
  
Kagome kneeled down and looked her son in the eyes. "Kiyoshi, I want you and Aiko to take all the kids into the woods. Stay together and stay out of sight. Your father and I are going to go down into the village with Aunt Sango and Uncle Miroku to see if we can help. We'll find you when we're done down there. If anything happens, and you think you have to leave, go down the well. Gramma will let you guys sleep at the house. K?"  
  
"Okay, Mom. You can count on me."  
  
Kagome kissed Kiyoshi's forehead and stood up. She and the others headed down the path that led to the village at a run.  
  
Kiyoshi looked back at the others. They looked scared. "Stay here a minute." He headed inside the little shed next to the house and pulled out the large sled that Miroku and Inuyasha had made to accommodate all the children. He pulled it out and ordered the others to sit on it. After all the kids, minus Aiko, who refused to be pulled when she could help, were on the sled, Kiyoshi and Aiko began to pull the sled through the woods.  
  
When they came to a spot that was overgrown, they stopped. They would be able to hide themselves in the brush and still be able to see anyone that approached.   
  
They were there for no more than ten minutes when a large explosion made them all jump. "Stay here " Kiyoshi yelled over his shoulder as he took off towards the sound of the explosion. 'I think that was the house.'  
  
He raced through the woods with as much stealth as his father and he reached a horrible sight. It had been the house that had exploded. It was engulfed in flames and a very big demon was standing in the middle of it. It was emitting a terrible screeching sound that was so loud, Kiyoshi had to cover his ears. But Kiyoshi was able to make out what the demon was screeching and it made his blood run cold.  
  
"WHERE IS IT? WHERE IS THE SHIKON NO TAMA? I MUST HAVE IT!"  
  
Kiyoshi hesitated only the briefest of seconds before tearing off into the burning house. In the back of the house was a small, yet well protected shrine that housed the jewel. But the main protection was his fathers sword, and Inuyasha had taken that down to the village with him. And it was up to Kiyoshi to get the jewel out of the house and away from the big demon.  
  
'This had to be planned. There is no way this is coincidence.' Kiyoshi rushed through the burning house, feeling the heat lick at his exposed skin, grateful to his father for making him a Firerat Kimono. He reached the back of the house and quickly opened the shrine. He grabbed the jewel and ran as fast as he could back out.  
  
Kiyoshi wasn't as lucky coming out as he had been going in. The demon saw him and tried to stomp on him as he ran out. The demon missed, but Kiyoshi fell. He rolled over and took off on all fours into the underbrush towards the well. But the demon seemed to know where he had been heading and lumbered after him, getting to the well first.  
  
"GIVE ME THE SHIKON NO TAMA! GIVE ME THE SHIKON NO TAMAAAA!" Kiyoshi cringed and covered his ears against the roar, backing away from the frightful monster.  
  
The demon noticed Kiyoshi backing away and slammed his overly large arm down on top of the well, crushing it inwards. Kiyoshi gasped in horror. What now?  
  
"GIVE ME THE JEWEL OR YOU WILL DIE!"  
  
Kiyoshi stared at the demon, unable to move. What was he going to do? The demon seemed to grow tired of Kiyoshi just standing there and started to move at him.   
  
"Kiyoshi, RUN!"  
  
Kiyoshi whipped his head around to see Aiko dart out of the woods. She grabbed her brother's arm and yanked him out of the way as the lumbering demon stomped on the spot where Kiyoshi had been standing.  
  
  
  
Together the siblings raced away from the roaring demon. "I'm sorry, Aiko! I shouldn't have froze like that!"  
  
"It's okay! But I better hold on to the jewel! I can hide it better with my life force! "  
  
When they reached the shrubs, the others were staring wide eyed at the pair. "We can't wait for our parents. We have to leave before that demon finds us." Kiyoshi did a head count before grabbing one of the ropes tied to the sled. Aiko grabbed the other and together, they pulled the seven children through the woods.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Well, here's part 2. What do you think? Did you like it? Hope so. ^_^ believe it or not it's been over a month since I've written anything on this story. LoL Oh well. I think it tunred out okay. Please R/R ~_~ 


	3. Part 3

Part 3  
  
~*~*~  
  
"These damn demons are a nuisance " Inuyasha yelled as he swiped at another of the small brown demons, and again missed. The little toad like demon jumped swiftly away, stuck out his tongue, and laughed.   
  
"I agree. But we have to get rid of them." Miroku said as he swung his staff at on of the little demons and missed. "It's times like this that I miss having my wind tunnel."  
  
Inuyasha was about to reply when he heard Kagome yelp. He turned swiftly to see if she was okay when one of the little demons jumped on his back and bit his ear. Letting out a yelp of his own, Inuyasha grabbed the demon by the leg and went to slice it to ribbons with his claws when the little demon bit down hard on his hand. Inuyasha cried out and tossed the demon away from him.  
  
Inuyasha again turned to Kagome who was just standing there, bow at the ready, looking for a demon to aim at. "Are you alright Kagome?"  
  
"Yeah, it's nothing. One of those things just bit my ankle is all."  
  
Sango came over to Kagome. "They all left. It doesn't make any sense, though."  
  
"Oh, Sango What happened to your cheek?" Kagome touched her friend's cheek. There was a small cut under her left eye.  
  
"One of those foul demons jumped up and scratched my face. I was to surprised and he got away."  
  
"Are you sure, Sango?" Miroku came over and examined the wound himself. "I think you should let Keade look at it. I don't want it to get infected."  
  
"I'm fine. I just want to get back to-" But before Sango could finish her sentence, a large explosion came from the direction of their homes.  
  
"Oh my God... the kids " Kagome started to run towards their home when Inuyasha picked her up off the ground and ran for it. Miroku and Sango were at their heels on Kilala's back.  
  
When they reached Inuyasha and Kagome's home, they stopped in horror. It was engulfed in flames. Before anyone could say anything, Inuyasha went inside the burning house. It was almost ready to fall but he had to make sure none of the munchkins were inside. When he was done checking the rooms, he headed to the small shrine in the back of the house to get the Shikon no Tama. When he reached the door, he found it open. Dread filled him as he peered inside. As he had guessed from the door, the jewel was gone.  
  
The house groaned around him, telling Inuyasha he had only seconds to get out. He came bursting through the doorway to the outside just as the house fell.  
  
"Thank heavens " Kagome launched herself at her husband Hugging him close to her.  
  
"The Shikon no Tama is missing." Kagome froze. Slowly she pulled herself away from her husband.  
  
"You can't be serious."  
  
"I am. Kagome, can you sense it anywhere near here? The fire just happened so it can't be that far." Inuyasha looked around the area and sniffed the air. There was no scent of any kind in the air. Which was odd. He couldn't even smell Kagome and she was right in front of him. Inuyasha smelled deep, trying to pick up the scent of his children, but to no avail. Panic started to pry at him.  
  
"Miroku, can you use your monk powers to see where the munchkins are? I can't smell them."  
  
Miroku stared at him a moment. He shook himself, then set to work on finding the kids. Sango also started using her tracking skills as a demon exterminator to find signs of the kids.  
  
Kagome looked at Inuyasha. "I can't sense it anywhere. Inuyasha..."  
  
"I know. We'll find it. But that'll have to wait, I can't smell the kids."  
  
Kagome's eyes widened. "WHAT? "  
  
"I can't find them. There's no trace that they were even here." Miroku looked over at Sango. "Any luck?"  
  
"No." Sango bit her lip. "Miroku, what are we going to do? Between the four of us, we should be able to find them, but it's like they don't exist."   
  
Miroku walked over to her and hugged her close. "Don't worry. We'll find them. They can't be that far."  
  
"Inuyasha, this is my fault. I should have stayed with them. What if whatever started this fire got them? This is all my fault." Kagome cried. Tears fell down her cheeks, and she fell to the ground.  
  
Inuyasha pulled Kagome close to him. "Kiyoshi and Aiko will take care of all the munchkins. Don't worry. They're going to be fine and we're going to find them." Pulling back a little to look into her eyes, Inuyasha smiled. "This is going to be Kiyoshi's first test at being a man. He'll do just fine. Now we need to think of all the places they would go."  
  
Kagome sniffed. "The well. I told Kiyoshi that they should go down the well if he thought that they were in danger."  
  
"Okay, let's start there. Maybe the kids have the jewel. Remember that they need it to go across. Maybe he took it before heading into the woods. And you know Aiko can hide the jewel's power just by holding it." Inuyasha stood up, pulling his mate up with him.  
  
"I'm sure that's what happened. They're going to be fine." Miroku smiled at Kagome and Sango. They all headed for the well.  
  
~*~*~  
  
"Okay, so where should we go? I mean we lost that big demon, but it'll only be a matter of time before it finds us, or another demon finds us." Aiko looked at Kiyoshi. "I don't think we should head for the village. I think that that demon was the one that... that..."  
  
"Aiko, it's okay. I know what you're saying." Kiyoshi sighed. It was near dawn and they made a small fireless camp on the edge of the forest. He and Aiko had been up for the rest of the night wandering the woods trying to lose that big demon. About an hour ago, they stopped hearing his rumbling roars and his heavy footfall. They had decided to risk a short break. Of course the younger ones were asleep.  
  
Aiko rubbed her eyes and yawned. "Aiko why don't you take a nap? I'll keep watch."  
  
"No. I'm fine, really." Aiko said through another yawn.  
  
Kiyoshi narrowed his eyes at her. "Get some sleep. You're no help if you're falling asleep when we have to leave. Don't worry, I'll wake you."  
  
Aiko pouted but stood up. She walked over to he sled and carefully laid down next to Teito, who was sleeping peacefully. Within minutes, Aiko was fast asleep.  
  
Kiyoshi stiffled a yawn of his own as he climbed into a nearby tree. Aiko was right. They couldn't go back to the village. That demon hadn't been working alone. So his helpers might still be in the village. Where to go?  
  
Kiyoshi thought hard. Of course, there was Kouga and his pack. Kouga liked them and treated them well whenever Mom and Dad took them for a visit, or Shippou and Kouga would stop by. But that big demon might go there and hurt the wolves.  
  
Or they could go the the Shrine where Aunt Sango and Uncle Kohaku came from. He remembered Kohaku telling him once that a cave near there was where the Shikon no Tama came from and that no one without a pure reason for being there could enter. But then again, Dad also said that a large stone demon that died there came back to life because the jewel had been close.  
  
Kiyoshi sighed. Where could they go? Then a thought occurred to him. Dad had a brother that was lord of the western lands. He never talked about his brother except to say that they never got along. Maybe he could help them. Maybe he might even be able to find their parents   
  
Kiyoshi smiled and jumped down out of the tree. It was time to go. He wouldn't wake Aiko like he said, but that was okay. She needed sleep.  
  
There was a village nearby that they could get supplies from. How they were going to do that was a question for later, but they'd think of something. Teito needed milk, and Misa, Midori, and Mitsuko had to have their rice, or the world would end. Naoko, Toshihiro, and Chika would also be wanting breakfast.  
  
With a sigh, Kiyoshi picked up a rope and began to drag the eight children.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Another part done! Yay. Hope that you people like it. I'm getting carried away with the plot. I know, but hey! I can honestly say that you won't guess what's going on. ^____^ Just try. LoL Well, anyway, please R/R. ~_~ 


	4. Part 4

Part 4  
  
~*~*~  
  
Inuyasha gaped in horror at the well. It was caved in as if something had exploded inside it.  
  
Kagome stared, and walked towards the well. "Inuyasha, what if the munchkins crossed? They can't get back "  
  
Miroku looked at Sango. Both were thinking the same thing. What if the kids HADN'T crossed?  
  
"Okay, Miroku, you go back to the village. See if Keade could spare a few villagers to help dig out the well, and fix it. I'm going to try to get to the bottom and cross. I'll see if they're there."  
  
Inuyasha quickly worked his way down through the rubble of the well and reached the bottom. Instantly, a tingling sensation seemed to pull at him. He sank through the bottom of the well and resurfaced on the other side.  
  
Inuyasha jumped to the top of the well and darted out of the shrine to the house. He could see movement inside, but still couldn't smell anything. When he reached the house, he opened the door and nearly ran over Souta.  
  
"Inuyasha, What are you doing here? Care for something to eat?" Souta asked on his way to the kitchen. Souta was 19 now, and also the priest to the shrine.   
  
"No thanks, Souta. Are the munchkins here?"  
  
"Uh, should they be?"  
  
That was all the answer that Inuyasha needed. He headed outside and walked towards the well. "Inuyasha What's happened?"  
  
Never stopping on his way to the well, Inuyasha quickly told Souta the story. "I need to find them. Kagome, Sango and Miroku are really worried and we don't even know where they could have gone."  
  
"Sorry I can't help. When you find them, bring them for a visit. I want to see that they're okay."  
  
"Okay." Inuyasha jumped down the well and emerged back in his time. He heard voices coming from the top of the well.  
  
"Don't start working on the well, yet Inuyasha isn't back yet and you might cave in the well and he won't be able to get back "  
  
"Yes, Lady Kagome."  
  
"Do you think he'll be back soon?" Miroku's muffled voice asked.  
  
"I am back. But the kids aren't there. Any ideas on where they might be headed?" Inuyasha said as he climbed his way out of the well.  
  
"Kohaku's following their trail with Sango right now. We should go after them." Miroku turned and started for the woods when Sango and Kohaku came back out. "I thought you were following their trail?"  
  
"We were. But it ended about 7 miles from here. Right outside the woods. Sorry." Kohaku looked at his brother-in-law in apology.  
  
"It's alright. Don't worry about it. I have an idea on how we can find them, but it's up to Inuyasha..." Miroku looked over at the hanyou. Kagome, Sango, and Kohaku looked in question between the two.  
  
"Whatever it is, I'm for it. I'll do whatever I need to to find the kids."  
  
"Even ask for Kouga's help?"  
  
Inuyasha looked incredulously at Miroku. "You've gotta be kidding. Me, ask for the fleabag's help? No a-" Inuyasha looked at Kagome's tired and fearful face and sighed. "Alright. Let's go. Heck, who knows? They might even have gone there."  
  
~*~*~  
  
Kiyoshi was exhausted. He had found the village before any of the others woke up, and had tried to find someone willing to show charity to 9 little kids, but all he got was doors slammed in his face. So he reverted to stealing what they needed. 'Mom is SO going to ground me.'  
  
He had stolen 5 big blankets that were hanging up on lines. Airing them out for the approaching winter, no doubt. He also broke into a barn and stole a bucket full of milk for Teito. But that was it.  
  
After he returned to the hiding spot and brought the blankets and milk, he went off to do some hunting. He managed to get four rabbits in half an hour. After the morning hunt he proceeded to drag the heavy sled onto the road and headed west. He estimated it was nearly ten o'clock before Midori woke up. At that point they had entered another forest.   
  
Kiyoshi dragged the sled off the trail and into the brush on the side of the path. He started a fire to cook the rabbits for breakfast. Midori, being a little chatterbox, woke the others including Aiko.  
  
"I can't believe you let me sleep. You said you were gonna wake me up " Aiko scowled at him.  
  
"I know, but you were really tired and one of us should be relatively awake to take care of the others." Kiyoshi yawned as he took a bite out of the rabbit.  
  
"Um, Kiyoshi? Where'd this stuff come from?"  
  
"I got it at that village on the other side of the woods."  
  
"How'd you do that? We don't have any money."  
  
"...."  
  
"Kiyoshi How'd you get this stuff?" Aiko locked her golden eyes on his violet ones and refused to look away until he answered.  
  
"They gave it to me, alright? Jeeze, you're worse than Mom "  
  
Aiko sniffed and brushed her bangs away from her face. "I don't believe you."  
  
"Fine Don't believe me See if I-" Kiyoshi fell silent as his sharp hearing picked up the sound of footsteps. He hushed the little kids and signaled Aiko to grab one of the ropes. The quietly dragged the sled away from the road and hid in the brush.  
  
Soldiers marched by, scanning the woods around them for anything suspicious. They never noticed the nine little kids hiding ten feet from them.  
  
After they passed Kiyoshi let out a breath. He signaled to Aiko to help him pull the sled. After about an hour of traveling, Aiko cleared her throat.  
  
"So where are we going?"  
  
"To the western lands."  
  
Aiko stumbled. "Are you sure? I mean dad told us that our uncle wasn't very nice."  
  
"Yeah, but we need his help. I don't want that big demon to hurt Uncle Kouga or Uncle Shippou, so we can't go to them. He's the only one strong enough to fight that demon. Dad even said that he was strong; he can turn into a big white dog, probably bigger than that demon that's chasing us."  
  
"Okay... but we don't even know his name. What are we supposed to call him? Uncle? I don't even think Dad's seen him since we were born, so he might not know we're his nieces and nephews."  
  
"We'll figure all that out later. First things first. We find him. Then we worry on what to call him." Kiyoshi yawned. He was so tired.  
  
"Hey, Kiyoshi. I think you should take a nap now. I can handle this until you wake up."  
  
"No. I'm okay, just a little tired is all. I'll rest later tonight, okay?"  
  
Aiko sighed. "If you say so."  
  
~*~*~ 


	5. Part 5

Part 5  
  
~*~*~  
  
Inuyasha scowled at the big grin on the wolf's face. One of Kouga's favorite things to do was make Inuyasha beg. Which was what Inuyasha did. 'Keep your cool, Inuyasha. You need his help.'  
  
"Of course I'll help you. I like the kids, even if I can't stand you, mutt." Kouga crossed his arms, this grin fading. "Besides, I don't like to see Kagome so upset."  
  
Inuyasha let out an exasperated breath. "Then why did you make me do all that begging? "  
  
"Because, it was entertaining to see you hold that rotten temper of yours."  
  
They both walked out of the cave. Shippou was standing with Kagome, Miroku, Sango and Kohaku. When Inuyasha and Kouga joined them, they all headed down the mountain.  
  
They made camp at the base of the mountain. No one was really in the mood to talk, but Miroku was unusually quiet.  
  
"Why are you so silent?" Inuyasha looked over at Miroku.  
  
"I think that this was all a set up."  
  
This, of course, gained him a full audience. "What do you mean?" Sango said, looking quizzically at her husband.  
  
"I've been thinking a lot about those little demons that attacked the village. Did you notice that they really didn't do much damage? It was like they were waiting for us."  
  
"And why, might I ask, would they do that?" Inuyasha crossed his arms over his chest.  
  
"I think to wound us."  
  
"Huh? That doesn't make any sense. They didn't wound us. And they ran away."  
  
"But they did wound us, Inuyasha. One bit Kagome's ankle, one clawed Sango's cheek and one bit your ear and your hand. All of those little wounds were bleeding."  
  
"There is a flaw in your logic, monk. You weren't injured."  
  
"Yes. I was." Miroku pulled his sleeve up and showed them all a long, thin slice down his right arm, ending in the palm of his hand. "One of them did this."  
  
"Okay, say you're right. Why? Why would they go to all that trouble to give us little scratches."  
  
"Two reasons. One, to distract us from the munchkins. Two, I think the point of these wounds were to steal our ability to find the kids on our own. Inuyasha, you can't smell anything, Kagome can't sense the jewel, I can't use any of my powers, and Sango can't find any trace that the Munchkins were anywhere near the house. We needed Kohaku to find their tracks."  
  
"Why would someone go to all this trouble though?" Sango said, moving closer to Miroku.  
  
"I'm not sure, but I think it's because they want the kids. I don't know why, but one this is for sure. We were slowed down because we couldn't use our abilities to find them. The munchkins can be anywhere by now." Miroku sighed. "Of course, this is just speculation."  
  
"And you're normally correct when it comes down to it, Miroku." Kagome lowered her head. "It just means we have to hurry and find them."  
  
~*~*~  
  
The children had been wandering in a western direction for about four days. Kiyoshi hadn't slept for more than two hours at a time for every ten hours he was awake.  
  
Kiyoshi was exhausted. But since he was the only one that knew how to use any form of weapon, he felt it was his responsibility to take care of the others.  
  
"Please Kiyoshi, just take a nap. I promise that if anything happens, I'll wake you up. I promise." Aiko looked at her twin. She was very worried about his health. He hadn't been sleeping, or eating much. All Kiyoshi did was keep watch and hunt for food.   
  
Kiyoshi yawned. "I'm fine."  
  
"Please Kiyoshi. I don't want to have to take care of you if you get sick."  
  
Kiyoshi looked at his sister. He sighed. "Oh, alright. But wake me up in a few hours. And if anything happens, wake me up immediately. Promise?"  
  
"Promise." Aiko smiled in relief.  
  
Kiyoshi yawn again and wandered over to the sled. All the kids were playing by the fire, so he crawled on top of the sled and pulled one of the huge quilts over his head. It was about noon, and they always stopped for a few hours at noon so the little kids could play.  
  
"Kiyoshi, wake up Please, wake up Someone's coming " Kiyoshi was shaken awake by Aiko who was looking rather alarmed.  
  
"What's going on? I just laid down." Kiyoshi sat up, rubbing his eyes.  
  
"No, you laid down three hours ago, but never mind that." Aiko was pulling him off the sled and and was ushering the little kids onto it. "Someone's coming, and it doesn't smell human."  
  
This brought Kiyoshi fully awake. He climbed a nearby tree and waited to see who was coming. Below, Aiko was pulling the sled along further into the brush and next to an old tree. There was a hollow at the base of the tree, and Aiko pushed the sled into it and covered the opening with rocks and shrubs.  
  
Kiyoshi watched the road intently. Then the demon came into view. There were two demons. One was very small. It was ugly and looked just like a fat walking toad. It carried a very odd, two headed staff. The other demon was tall, and very elegant looking. He had long silver hair and golden eyes. 'He sort of looks like dad...'  
  
Aiko touched his shoulder. She had hidden the other kids and then joined her brother to look for the demon. They exchanged glances. As long as they didn't cause a disturbance, the demons should walk right by without noticing them. Unfortunately, the tall demon had a very good nose.  
  
The demon stopped. And looked in their general direction. "Jaken."  
  
"Yes, my lord?"  
  
"Someone is hiding in those shrubs over there. I want them brought out."  
  
"Yes, my lord."  
  
The little toad named Jaken took a step towards the side of the road and raised his staff. A large fireball emerged from the end of the staff. Aiko cried out in surprise, and unfortunately the tall demon also had good hearing. He looked up into the trees. Kiyoshi swore. He grabbed Aiko's hand and raced through the treetops. When they were about 5 miles away Kiyoshi stopped for breath.  
  
"Go back to the others. That big demon is following us. I'll keep him busy looking for me while you go and make sure that toad stays away from the others."  
  
"Okay. Just hurry back, okay?"  
  
"Yeah, don't worry."  
  
Aiko took off toward the left and then zoomed back the way they came. Kiyoshi closed his eyes and smelled deeply. The demon was still heading towards him. 'Good.'  
  
Kiyoshi headed down to the ground and started to loop around the area. He'd confuse the demon by leaving his scent on everything in the area, so he couldn't tell where he was. Then Kiyoshi would make a break for it and go back for the others.  
  
After making sure his scent was all over everything, Kiyoshi hid in the brush opposite the direction the demon was coming from.  
  
Moments later the demon came through the trees and into the clearing. "Come out here, now, boy, before I get angry."  
  
Kiyoshi didn't answer. He watched the demons every move. But he gasped when the demon looked right at him. "Come out here, now."  
  
Kiyoshi, finding no reason to continue hiding, stood up. He backed away until his back was against a tree and then pulled his dagger out of it's sheath and held it in front of him. "Please, just go away. I just want you to leave."  
  
The demon raised an eyebrow. "After that chase? You've wasted my time, and I require you to explain why."  
  
"I didn't want you to follow me I was just trying to get away from you. Just, please, go " Kiyoshi stared hard at the demon. Why had he come after them if he had no reason to?  
  
"What about the others? Did you abandon them, then?"  
  
Kiyoshi blinked. "How did you know about them?"  
  
"I have a nose. Now did you abandon them, or was that girl going to go and get them?"  
  
This was frustrating Kiyoshi. This demon had a very good nose. He knew he had sent Aiko back to the others. Hopefully she could take on that little demon.  
  
"Umm, Mr. Demon, sir, please leave us alone. We didn't mean to waist your time, but we didn't know if you'd hurt us, so we ran. Can't you just forget this?"  
  
"My time is valuable. You will repay it."  
  
Kiyoshi didn't like the sound of that. Did that mean this demon was going to kill him for wasting his time? Kiyoshi raised hi dagger and pointed it at the demon. "Just go away. I don't want to fight you."  
  
The demon's expression didn't change. "If you throw that dagger, you better aim to kill. It will be the only way you survive."  
  
Kiyoshi's eyes widened. He was going to let him have a go? Was this guy that confident that Kiyoshi would miss, or did he want to test him?  
  
Before Kiyoshi could think about it, he threw the dagger as hard as he could at the demon, aiming for his heart. The man dodged the knife but the knife passed through the robes covering his left arm. But the dagger passed right through the sleeve and the demon plucked the dagger out of the air. Within a blink he threw it back at Kiyoshi. It hit with a dull thud.  
  
Kiyoshi's eyes were wide. He felt blood run down his right cheek. He turned his head slightly and saw that the dagger was imbedded into the tree to the hilt. He gave it a tug but the blade didn't move.  
  
He felt the front of his Kimono being pulled and he was lifted off the ground, raised eye level with the demon.  
  
The demon seemed to be examining him. He looked over Kiyoshi's face, clothes, and then he looked at Kiyoshi's ears. The demon ran a finger over one of the ears. Then he dropped Kiyoshi. "You're Inuyasha's pup."  
  
Shock ran over Kiyoshi. How did this demon know his father? Was he a demon that his dad fought and lost to? "How did you know that?"  
  
The demon looked down at Kiyoshi. "Because, I'm his brother, and I could never mistake that attitude or those ears."  
  
"WHAT? Your Dad's brother? " Kiyoshi stood stunned. 'Well,' he thought, 'at least we don't have to go to the west lands, now.'  
  
"That is correct. What is your name?"  
  
"Kiyoshi."  
  
The demon grabbed Kiyoshi by the scruff of the neck, pulled the dagger out of the tree, and headed back the way they had come.  
  
"Hey Let me go Put me down "  
  
"No."  
  
Kiyoshi continued to struggle until they reached the place where the chase began. Then the demon dropped Kiyoshi."Call out the other children."  
  
"What makes yo think I'm gonna do that." His uncle raised an eyebrow. Kiyoshi gave him a sulking look before he turned and called for Aiko. Aiko stuck her head around the tree.  
  
"Are you okay, Kiyoshi?" Aiko looked at the tall demon behind her brother.  
  
"Yes. This is who we were looking for."  
  
Aiko's eyes got big. "He's our uncle?"  
  
"Yep."  
  
Aiko smiled shyly at the tall demon. "He kinda looks like dad." She stepped out from behind the tree and gave a small curtsy. "How do you do? My name is Aiko." Aiko then moved behind the tree and tossed out the toad demon, who was tied up and gagged, then led out the other kids.  
  
"Good lord, are all of you my brother's?"  
  
Aiko giggled. "No. Kiyoshi, me, Midori, Misa, Mitsuko, and Teito are. This is Naoko, Toshihiro, and Chika. They're human and Uncle Miroku and Aunt Sango's children."  
  
The tall demon eyed the children for a moment. "My name is Sesshoumaru."  
  
~*~*~ 


	6. Part 6

Part 6  
  
~*~*~  
  
Kiyoshi yawned. After his encounter with his uncle, Sesshoumaru had taken them all to a cave that was nearby. Even though all the other children felt they were safe, Kiyoshi still refused to let his guard down.  
  
It was night and the others, all except Aiko, were asleep. Kiyoshi sat near the entrance of the cave and watched the swirling snow. It had begun to snow earlier that day.  
  
"Kiyoshi, you don't need to keep watch anymore. We're safe here. Nothing's gonna get us in here." Aiko walked over to her twin and sat next to him. "Please go to sleep; you're gonna get sick."  
  
"I'm fine. You don't need to worry about me."  
  
"Boy."  
  
Kiyoshi jumped and turned to look at his uncle. Sesshoumaru had refuse to call him anything but 'boy' since Kiyoshi had told him his name.  
  
"What do you want?"  
  
Sesshoumaru quirked an eyebrow. "I wish you to tell me why your parents abandoned you."  
  
Kiyoshi growled low under his breath. He stomped over to his uncle and glared at him. "Mom and Dad didn't abandon us And it's none of your business "  
  
"Then why did you seek me out?"  
  
"Oh, that's because we wanted to ask for your help." Aiko said, putting a hand on her brother's shoulder. "Kiyoshi, will you please tell him what happened. I only know what happened after the well."  
  
Kiyoshi scowled at his sister. "Fine." With a huff, Kiyoshi sat down in front of his uncle. He began telling Sesshoumaru what happened in the middle of the night five nights ago.  
  
"So a demon attacked the village to lure your parents away so the house would be unprotected and they could get the Shikon no Tama. And your parents haven't found you yet?"  
  
Kiyoshi stared at the floor. He didn't say anything for a long time. "I think... I think that the demon got them. I think that they might be dead." Kiyoshi closed his eyes. He hated even thinking that that might even be true, but he couldn't think of any reason why his parents wouldn't be there with them by now.  
  
"Don't say that, Kiyoshi It's not true They'll come for us, and everything will be okay I know it " Aiko's pained voice was high with anger and fear.  
  
"Yeah? Well, I hope you're right. I want to see them, too." Kiyoshi's voice didn't go above a whisper. He raised his head and looked at Sesshoumaru. Sesshoumaru was regarding him in a thoughtful manner.  
  
"I'm going to go to your village tomorrow to see what has happened there. I want you to stay in the cave. You are safe in here." Sesshoumaru said this as an order, expecting them to follow it.  
  
Kiyoshi's temper flared. "What gives you the right to order us around? We don't even know you and you didn't even know we existed We don't have to listen to you "  
  
Sesshoumaru's hand moved faster than Kiyoshi could see. He grabbed the front of Kiyoshi's kimono and pulled him inches from his face. "You were the one who was looking for me. I have kindly decided to see you safely back to your parents, and you will listen to me. Otherwise, I will throw you out into that storm and you can fend for yourself, boy, while your siblings and friends stay here and stay warm." He let go of Kiyoshi's front. "Decide what you want to do, because I'll have no more of this insolence from you."  
  
Kiyoshi stood up and brushed the dirt off his backside. He glared at his uncle. "I'm gonna go to bed." With that, he turned and walked over to where the other's were sleeping. He curled up and tossed one of the blankets over his head. Within seconds, Kiyoshi was asleep.  
  
Aiko sighed. She looked up at her uncle. "He's normally not like this. He's really nice and very mild tempered, but with everything that's happening, and a lack of sleep, he's gotten a little cranky." She brushed her bangs to the side.   
  
Sesshoumaru blinked. Aiko had a little crescent moon on her forehead. He reached out and took her chin in his hand, tilting her head so he could get a better look. He ran a solitary finger over the little moon, then trailed his finger over to her ear. If he didn't know better, he would have said she was his daughter. Sesshoumaru sighed and released her.  
  
"Just make sure you stay inside the cave tomorrow. Jaken will be back in the morning with enough food to last you all for the day. I will be back later in the afternoon."  
  
Aiko looked over at her sleeping twin. With a sigh, she looked back at her uncle. "Okay."  
  
~*~*~  
  
A soft giggling sound woke Sesshoumaru the next morning. The children had woken up early, apparently, and were playing. Sesshoumaru tried, unsuccessfully, to ignore them and go back to sleep, but unfortunately, the children were playing very close to him.  
  
Sesshoumaru opened his eyes with a sigh. 'I hadn't realized I was such a light sleeper,' he thought to himself as he turned to see what the little ones were so amused with.  
  
To his surprise the children weren't playing anything. They were looking at him. "What is it?" He asked, looking into their faces one by one. His question just seemed to encourage more fits of giggling.  
  
Kiyoshi, on the other hand, looked alarmed. Aiko, who was holding the infant, looked a little hesitant herself. Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow at her. "Ummm...... Here." Aiko said as she handed him her little pocket mirror.  
  
Sesshoumaru looked at her for a moment longer before peering into the little hand mirror. What he saw shocked him, although the only sign of any change in his mood was the slight widening of his eyes. 'I guess I'm not a light sleeper after all...'  
  
His silver hair was sticking up in all directions, tied with colorful little silk ribbons. Each of the little pony tails had five or six bows going down the length of it.  
  
Slowly, he turned his head to look at the little troublemakers. Midori piped up. "Momma never lets us do her hair and you have such pritty hair that we's had to dress it up some more and tie lots of pritty ribbons in it and make it colorful-like. Do ya like it? Huh, huh? We was careful to be quiet, although Big Brudder wanted us to leave your hair alone, thinkin' you'd get mad-like at us, but I didn't think so." A big toothy grin was plastered on the little girls face.  
  
Sesshoumaru made no comment about the little girl's explanation. Instead, he looked back into the mirror and back at the kids. All seemed to be waiting a response. Even Kiyoshi, although he looked like he would rather be running headfirst into a wall than standing there.  
  
"Run." With shrieks of laughter, the children all ran in different directions, seeking out hiding places. Even Aiko grinned and dragged a stunned Kiyoshi off to hide.  
  
When all the children were out of sight, Sesshoumaru looked back into the hand mirror. He pulled one of the small bows out of his hair and looked at it. 'This would be something that Rin would have done when she was this age.'  
  
Sesshoumaru couldn't understand why these children weren't afraid of him. It seemed like all children, human and demon alike didn't fear the all powerful Sesshoumaru, Lord of the Westlands. Even demons had the sense to fear him.  
  
Silently, Sesshoumaru stood up. The cave was filled with the sound of little children laughing, but his ears, even with his demon enhanced hearing, couldn't tell the direction the laughing was coming from. But his nose still worked, and he set off to find the little ones. He would leave to check the village after he found all the children.  
  
~*~*~  
  
^_^ I hope you enjoyed this part! LoL What did you think of the Kid's Makeover of fluffy? LoL I've been wanting to add that in ever since I started writing the story. ^_^ Please let me know what you think! R/R ~_~ 


	7. Part 7

Part 7  
  
~*~*~  
  
Kiyoshi watched the snow blowing outside the entrance of the cave. Sesshoumaru had left over an hour ago, and the unease that Kiyoshi had been feeling before last night returned.  
  
"He said he'd be back later this afternoon, Kiyoshi. Just relax." Aiko watched her brother.  
  
"I know he said that, but... But I can't believe that cold guy would care what happens to us." Kiyoshi sighed, then looked at his sister. "I just have this feeling that if we don't leave, something bad is going to happen."  
  
"Okay. When do you want to leave?"  
  
Kiyoshi turned away from Aiko. He wasn't surprised that she would just accept his decision like that, because she trusted his judgement without a doubt. But this time Kiyoshi was awash with emotions. Was it the right thing to do? Should he leave the cave and take the others with him? And why did he have such a sense of foreboding about staying and about leaving? He had a feeling either choice was going to be a bad one, he just couldn't figure out why.  
  
"Let's leave now." With that, they both loaded the kids on the sled, bundling then up with the blankets, then headed out into the snow.  
  
They walked in silence for a couple of hours. Kiyoshi's mind was wandering to the conversation that he had had with his uncle the previous night. Were his parents really dead, or would his uncle be able to find them?  
  
A sound to the side startled both Aiko and Kiyoshi into stopping. "What's going on?" came a little voice from the sled. Naoko poked his head out of the covers to see why they stopped.  
  
But Aiko and Kiyoshi were staring at the spot on the side of the road. Something was coming out of the brush and it wasn't just a wild animal. It was a bear demon, but it was staring at them like he wanted to have them for it's next meal. Long strings of drool hung from it's mouth, bringing attention to its long, pointed teeth. It's solid red eyes locked onto them and began to approach.  
  
"Aiko, get them out of here!" Kiyoshi palmed his knife and took up a fighting stance. Aiko rushed into the trees dragging the sled with her.  
  
Kiyoshi held the demons gaze for a moment before it roared and ran straight for him. Kiyoshi jumped up, just missing being gored. He landed behind the demon and held tight to his knife. He had to keep it distracted long enough for Aiko to hide the others. But at that moment, Aiko came out of the woods her eyes wide. The demon eyed her and started towards her, forgetting about Kiyoshi all together.  
  
"No!" Kiyoshi jumped in between the demon and Aiko. He charged the demon, his knife held in an attack stance. But when Kiyoshi was within striking distance, the demon turned, clubbing Kiyoshi in the side of the head, sending him careening to the right. He hit a small pile of snow and laid their, motionless. Blood stained the snow.  
  
Aiko screamed, and turned to head for her twin, but the demon blocked her way. She stared at it in horror as it slowly approached her. Fear kept her from breathing or moving. But when the demon was withing reaching distance of her, she screamed again, expecting the arm the demon raised was going to club her to death, like her twin.  
  
A shadow passed over the top of their heads, and a swishing sound followed the sword that fell on top of the demon, slicing him down the middle. Aiko collapsed in a heap of relieved tears as her uncle turned and looked at her. But the relief lasted only a moment, when she remembered Kiyoshi. Tears still glistened on her cheeks as she ran over to her brother. But before she could flip him over to look at the damage, a strong arm pulled her up away from her brother.  
  
"Go back to the other children and wait there for me." Was all Sesshoumaru said. Aiko looked at him for a moment, then did as she was told. Sesshoumaru looked back down at the lifeless body of his nephew. His eyes were half closed, but held no sign of life.   
  
Sesshoumaru gently turned the boy over to examine the wound on the side of his head. There was no visible damage except the blood that was leaking out of the boy's ear. Sesshoumaru gently touched the side of the boys head and had to stop the cringe of disgust. The skull under the skin was shattered.  
  
Sesshoumaru pulled out Tenseiga and laid it across the boy's chest. A few moments later the boy gasped for air, his eyes popping open and looked around wildly. When Kiyoshi's eyes landed on Sesshoumaru, they widened considerably.  
  
"We should get back to your sister. She's worried about you." Was all he said. Sesshoumaru turned and started to walk away.  
  
"Thank you." Kiyoshi said it softly, but Sesshoumaru heard it.  
  
When they reached the other children, Sesshoumaru took them all back to the cave. "Would you mind explaining to me why you left when I expressly told you to stay inside this cave?"  
  
His voice was soft, but it held a menace that promised retribution if he didn't receive an answer promptly. The other children were playing in the corner of the cave. Aiko was with the other children as well, so there was no way Kiyoshi could get out of this.  
  
"You wouldn't believe me."  
  
"Try me."  
  
"I didn't think it was safe here. Or out there, but I kept feeling like if we stayed, something bad was going to happen."  
  
"You will start listening to me, boy, or so help me, I will tie you up and leave you in the corner of this cave, until your parents can take you off my hands."  
  
Kiyoshi's head snapped up. "Did you find them, then? Are they alive? Are they coming here?" His excitement was barely contained as he asked these questions.  
  
"I believe they are alive. At least they were when they left your village to look for you."  
  
Disappointment was sharp in Kiyoshi's throat. Of course if Sesshoumaru had found them, they would be there with him.  
  
"I will be looking for them again tomorrow, but this time you will wait in this cave, do you understand? If you have to leave it for any reason, do not go out of sight of the entrance." Sesshoumaru watched Kiyoshi pointedly until he received a nod. "Good. Do not make me regret trusting you again, Kiyoshi."  
  
~*~*~  
  
Ack, I know this part was a little violent, but I have to set the scene. *sigh* But other than that, did ya like it??? ^_^ Hope so, cuz the reunion is coming up! YAY!!!! Oh, just wait! I have lots of stuff planned to make this reunion... umm... interesting! Mwa ha ha ha..... *evil grin*  
  
As always, thank you to the nice people who were kind enough to review. Tis always apreciated. Please be Kind, R/R. We authors thrive on it. ^_~ 


	8. Part 8

Part 8  
  
~*~*~  
  
Kouga stared down at the spot of red in the snow. He glanced up and met Shippou's eyes. It was Kiyoshi's blood, their was no mistaking it.  
  
"Did you find anything?" Inuyasha's voice came at them, warning them of his approach.  
  
Shippou stepped in front of Kouga, blocking the wolf from view as he kicked snow over the patch of blood. "No, we didn't find anything. But they were here. Yesterday from the smell."  
  
"Oh, thank God." Kagome said, her relief evident. "That means we're getting close." She smiled at her two demon friends. "Can you tell where they were heading?"  
  
"It smells like they doubled backed the way they came. But I think I should tell you..." Kouga stopped. He didn't want to mention that Kiyoshi was injured, but mentioning the fact that Sesshoumaru's scent was heavy in the air would be just as bad.  
  
"Tell us what?" Inuyasha looked at him. Kouga and Shippou weren't telling them something. "Spit it out, so we can find them."  
  
Kouga sighed. "Sesshoumaru is in the area, or at least he was in this area at the same time the munchkins were." He held up his hands to forestall any outbursts. "You can see there isn't any sign of death and decay here, so don't go getting all bent out of shape. The kids are fine as far as we can tell."  
  
Inuyasha scowled and turned his back, but not before Kouga and Shippou saw the stark terror in his eyes. They knew and understood his concerns when it came to his brother. It was the reason he never sent word to Sesshoumaru that he had nephews and nieces. Sesshoumaru despised Inuyasha for is human blood and even tried to kill him. He had wanted to protect his children from being killed by their uncle.  
  
"Let's get going. I want want to find them today." Inuyasha said.  
  
Kouga felt a pang of sympathy for Inuyasha, but didn't show him. He'd take it as pity and emotions were running too high. He strode off in the direction the children's scent led him. A few hours later, they spotted the mouth of a cave.  
  
Kouga stared at it for a moment. "I think that we might have just found them." He pointed to the cave entrance. "Their scent leads right into that cave, and their scent is all over this area, like they've been here a while."  
  
The four parents looked at each other, hope rising in their eyes. Quickly, they all entered the cave, looking about for any sign of their children. The only sign that the cave had been occupied was a small fire pit full of ashes. Disappointment hit them all hard.  
  
"Inuyasha, tell me we're going to find them soon. I can't handle this much longer." Kagome leaned into her husband, seeking his support.  
  
Inuyasha sighed, hugging Kagome close to him, unable to get the words of comfort passed his lips. He looked over the top of her head and gazed at Sango and Miroku. They looked as defeated as he felt. Sango shed silent tears on Miroku's shoulder as he held her tightly, his grief etching his ever-smiling face. Kohaku looked disappointed too, at not finding his nephews and niece. Shippou and Kouga stood quietly by, allowing the families the time to gather themselves before they set out to explore the area. The pain of not finding the children was just as sharp for them.  
  
A soft murmur was the first sign that they were about to get visitors inside the cave. Soon, words were distinguishable, allowing shocked silence and joy to swamp the company.  
  
"-be back soon. We don't have to worry. He said so."  
  
"I know, but I can't shake the feeling that we should leave. And don't remind me about yesterday. I gave my word to him, and I'm going to keep it."  
  
Kiyoshi walked into the cave, his arms loaded with wood. Aiko was right behind him dragging the sled full of blankets and rabbits. Soon followed the troop of little children, laughing and playing. None of them noticed their parents standing in the shadows in the back of the cave.  
  
Kiyoshi sighed and built a fire to begin cooking the rabbits, while Aiko helped the children stip off snow soaked clothes and made sure they were all covered with blankets when they all settled on the sled. Inuyasha and the others watched in awed silence as the children worked together. They let the sight of them all soak in, the relief and pride overwhelming.  
  
"You know, it's not so bad here. I know that you have a bad feeling, but maybe we should wait here. Think about it, we stay here and Mom and Dad might find us sooner. We haven't stayed in one spot to let them find us."  
  
Kiyoshi scowled at his sister. "You know we can't stay in one spot for too long. That demon will find us if we do. I won't let him find us."  
  
Aiko sat down next to her brother and hugged him. "You are so brave, you know that? You remind me of Daddy." She leaned her head against his shoulder. "I miss him."  
  
Kiyoshi squeezed his eyes shut. "I wish he were here. Mom and Dad would know what to do."  
  
Inuyasha stepped out of the shadows, tears swimming in his eyes. "Kiyoshi..."  
  
Kiyoshi's head snapped up, eyes wide with surprise. "Dad...?"  
  
Aiko gasped and stood up looking at her father. "Daddy! Mom!" A delighted smiled crossed her face as she launched her self at her parents. She was soon followed by all the children as the collided with their parents, hugging and kissing them to show how happy they were that their parents were there.  
  
Kagome cried and laughed as she hugged her children, trying to make sense out of what they were all saying. Inuyasha took over and allowed Kagome to go over to the sled and pick up Teito, who was calling out Mamma. Sango and Miroku were in the middle of their overjoyed children, hugging and kissing them, reassuring them that they were going to stay in the cave that night. Kohaku was soon tackled by the children, laughing as they knocked him to the ground. Aiko and Kiyoshi hugged Shippou and Kouga assuring them that they would have gone to the den if they thought it had been safe, which got them reprimanded for thinking about going any where else.  
  
The chaos continued for a while longer as the children greeted all the adults, trying to tell them their favorite part of this adventure they had had, mentioning the hair style they had given "Uncle Sessy", which had set Inuyasha laughing uproariously. Kiyoshi and Aiko stayed silent about telling the adults their side of events, allowing the younger kids to tell their parents all about it. They would tell them later about what had really happened.  
  
It was nightfall soon enough. Inuyasha had suggested that they stay in the cave for the night, which every one had agreed. Miroku and Sango had their three kids sleeping between them, while Kouga, Shippou and Kohaku stationed themselves in strategic places around the camp. The triplets were laying to Inuyasha's side, while Kiyoshi laid against his chest. Aiko laid against Kagome's chest right next to Inuyasha and Kiyoshi. And Teito was laying on the opposite side of Kagome.  
  
"Dad?"  
  
"Yes, Kiyoshi?"  
  
Kiyoshi hesitated. "I'm really sorry. I didn't do a good job of taking care of everybody."  
  
"What are you talking about? You did a great job, Kiyoshi. I'm really proud of you."  
  
This wasn't the response Kiyoshi was looking for. He bowed his head and turned away.  
  
"Tell me what's the matter."  
  
Kiyoshi sighed. "I couldn't even protect them against Uncle Sesshoumaru. When he found us, I tried to get him away from the others, but he found me. I can hit my targets, Dad, you know that, but... but... I couldn't hit him! I missed and instead, he caught me! And then yesterday I tried to take everyone and leave and that bear demon attacked us, nearly killing me and Aiko. If it weren't for Uncle Sesshoumaru, we would be dead." Kiyoshi turned around an looked at Inuyasha. "I failed at protecting everyone. I'm sorry."  
  
Inuyasha looked into Kiyoshi's eyes and saw the how heavy his failure was to him. He looked around at Kagome and the rest of the adults, their hearts going out to the little boy. "Kiyoshi, You did a great job. You are still really young. I know when I was your age, I could barely take care of myself, let alone eight other kids. You should be proud of yourself, because you managed to keep everyone together and alive, with or without help. I'm very proud of you." Inuyasha leaned over and kissed his son on the forehead. "Get some sleep, now. We'll talk more tomorrow, okay?"  
  
"Okay. Goodnight, Dad, Mom. Goodnight Aiko."  
  
"Goodnight, sweetheart." Kagome smiled lovingly at her son.  
  
Aiko smiled at him. "Goodnight Kiyoshi. And don't worry so much. You did a good job."  
  
Kiyoshi smiled at his sister, then snuggled into his father's chest and drifted off to sleep. Inuyasha took the opportunity to just look over his children. He had missed them so much, and now that he had them back, he could hardly believe it.  
  
After a while he became aware of eyes watching him. He looked up and at the mouth of the cave stood Sesshoumaru. When Sesshoumaru saw that Inuyasha had seen him, he turned around and exited the cave. Inuyasha carefully moved out from under Kiyoshi, careful not to disturb him, and walked out of the cave as well.  
  
He faced Sesshoumaru, and just eyed his brother for a moment. "I don't understand you. Why did you help them?"  
  
"I needed a reason?"  
  
"You always need a reason, Sesshoumaru. Why did you do it?"  
  
"Rin." He said simply. "She's been a terrible influence on me, and I've grown soft. But you should take better care of your children, Inuyasha."  
  
Inuyasha normally would have exploded at a comment like that, but instead he bowed his head. "Thank you."  
  
Sesshoumaru looked at his brother for a moment. "I should tell you, your son died yesterday."  
  
Inuyasha's head snapped up. "What?"  
  
Sesshoumaru frowned as if he couldn't understand it either. "He left the cave when I said to stay inside. I went in search of them and found Aiko screaming at nothing. I saw nothing at all. But there are demons that can be invisible to other demons, so I followed your daughter's eyes and sliced the air in front of her. Apparently, I killed whatever it was. But it was just air, Inuyasha. Even invisible demons have blood and bones. I should have felt the tug as I sliced through it. But it was just air. But that wasn't the oddest part. Kiyoshi's head had been caved in where he'd been struck. But again, I swear, there was nothing there."  
  
Inuyasha frowned. "This is getting very strange. Could it have been an illusion?"  
  
"Yes, but it wouldn't have been able to kill Kiyoshi. I had to use the Tenseiga to bring him back, Inuyasha."  
  
Inuyasha opened his mouth to reply, but before he could even make a sound, a scream echoed out of the cave.   
  
~*~*~  
  
^^;; Sorry. Again, this story was put on the back burner to get some other stories written. I hope I didn't wait too long to get it up.   
  
Thank you all so kindly for the wonderful reviews!!!! ^____^ They are so very much apreciated. I Lub U Guyz!!!!  
  
Christy 


	9. Part 9 COMPLETE

Part 9  
  
~*~*~  
  
Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru dashed back into the cave, looking for any sign of an attack.  
  
"Kagome! What happened?!" Inuyasha called out as he slid to a stop scanning for any enemies. Confusion took hold of Inuyasha as he took in the sight before him.  
  
Aiko was on her knees beside the fire, sobbing into her hands. Kiyoshi, knife in hand, stared at his surroundings. Horror filled his eyes.  
  
"Kagome, what happened?"  
  
Kagome shook her head as she stared at her two oldest children. "I don't know. It's like they can't hear me, Inuyasha. They won't respond."  
  
"What are they seeing?" Sesshoumaru murmured to himself. He watched the two children intently.  
  
"Dammit!" Screamed Kiyoshi. He walked over to the cave wall and slammed his small fist into it. "I knew we shouldn't have stayed! This is all my fault! I should told Mom and Dad to leave!" He squeezed his eyes shut and leaned his head against the wall.  
  
Aiko looked up from her hands, tears still shining on her cheeks and in her eyes. "What are we going to do? Kiyoshi... Mom and Daddy... They..." She started to sob again. "Who killed them?! Why didn't they kill us?! Why?! Why?!! The babies... What did we do?!" Her sobs shook her entire body.  
  
Every one in the room stared at the two little children. Kagome shook herself and reached for her daughter, desperate to make her see that they were still alive. Aiko looked in her direction just as Kagome was about to touch her shoulder. Aiko screamed and threw herself away from Kagome. Kiyoshi flew across the distance of the cave and grabbed Aiko, shoving her behind him and slashed at Kagome with his knife. Kagome cried out and threw herself backwards, just avoiding the blade.  
  
"Kagome!" Inuyasha went to move to her, but Sesshoumaru grabbed his arm.  
  
"Don't move. They obviously don't see us. Moving might frighten them more." He looked at the other occupants in the cave. "I think the other children should be moved out of the cave."  
  
Kohaku and Shippou nodded. They gathered the remaining children and headed out of the cave.  
  
Kiyoshi's arms were wrapped around his sister protectively, surveying the area. "It's alright Aiko. Don't worry, I'll take care of you."   
  
Inuyasha stared at his son. There was no way Kiyoshi would have attacked Kagome. What were they seeing that scared them so much? Why did they think that everyone was dead? "Kagome, are you alright?"  
  
Kagome nodded, her eyes locked on her children. "Inuyasha, help them."  
  
Inuyasha looked helplessly at his children. How could he help them?  
  
~*~*~  
  
Kiyoshi fought back tears. His parents were dead, his brother and sisters were dead. Every one he considered family was dead. Their throats ripped out, their heads hanging at odd angles, gashes and tears all over them. Mutilated by whatever had killed them.  
  
Only he and Aiko were still alive. Why? And what was that thing that had reached out for Aiko? It had looked like a rotting corpse. He closed his eyes. This couldn't be happening.  
  
Aiko stared at the place the thing had reached for her. Kiyoshi had sliced at it and it had dissolved into the air. "Kiyoshi... Do you think that was the thing that killed everyone?"  
  
"I don't know." Kiyoshi sighed and stood up. "We have to leave. Come on."  
  
Aiko whipped around. "What?! We can't leave our family like this! The deserve proper burials."  
  
"Yes, they do... But I don't think they'd want us to stay here when whatever killed them could come back for us." Kiyoshi looked at Aiko. "Please, Aiko, let's go. I promise, we'll come back and give them proper burials later."  
  
Aiko looked at her brother for a moment, then bowed her head. "Alright." She stood up.  
  
"Don't forget the Shikon. We need to protect that."  
  
Aiko nodded. She raised her hand and called for the small jewel silently. It flew through the air and landed in her hand. Aiko turned to her brother. "I have it."   
  
Kiyoshi nodded. They were both numb from the shock. He took Aiko's hand and just stood there for a moment.  
  
"What do we do now? Where do we go?" Aiko asked.  
  
Kiyoshi thought a moment. "Uncle Sesshoumaru. I think he'll help us."  
  
Aiko nodded. They moved towards the entrance of the cave, but when they got there, shock hit them hard. The ground in front of the cave was gone. They were hanging off the side of a steep cliff. The twins looked at each other.  
  
"How did that happen? We came in this way!" Aiko stared out into the hollow space in front of them. She looked up at her brother. "How do we get out of here now?"  
  
Kiyoshi clenched his fists. Obviously, someone wanted them to stay in this cave. "Their has to be another way out." He stepped up to the edge of the cliff face and looked out.  
  
Aiko sighed and turned to look back into the cave. Her eyes widened with shock as she stared at the opposite wall from her. Sesshoumaru was hanging against the wall, pinned to it by his own sword. Next to him was Inuyasha, also pinned to the wall with his sword.  
  
Horrified, she backed away from them, and bumped into the wall behind her. She slid down it, until she was sitting.  
  
Kiyoshi sighed and turned back to his sister. He frowned when he saw her sitting on the ground. "What is it?" He turned to look at the opposite wall and gasped. "Oh, no... no, no..."  
  
~*~*~  
  
Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha watched the twins. Kiyoshi and Aiko were looking right at them, but seemed to be seeing something else. Inuyasha looked at his brother. "What's wrong with them?"  
  
"They seem to be trapped in some kind of illusion. But no illusion I know of is this powerful."   
  
"Is there a way to snap them out of this?"  
  
Sesshoumaru shook his head. "No, not until the illusionist is ready to relinquish the illusion."  
  
Inuyasha stared helplessly at his children.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Kiyoshi grabbed Aiko's hand and dragged her back into the cave. "We have to find another way out. Their has to be another way out." He looked at Aiko. "We never went too deep into the caves. Let's try that way."  
  
Aiko just nodded. Kiyoshi pulled her towards the back of the cave, but before they went too far, Kiyoshi stopped. "Aiko... What is that?"  
  
Aiko looked over Kiyoshi's shoulder. "Uhh... I don't know... Kiyoshi... I don't like the looks of it."  
  
"Neither do I." Kiyoshi stared at the purple fog slowly coming in from the back of the cave. It was getting denser with every passing moment and was slowly filling the cave. "Let's get higher up. I don't want to touch that stuff."  
  
Kiyoshi looked around the cave and spotted a high ledge about twenty feet up. "Do you think you can jump up there, Aiko?"  
  
Aiko looked up. "Yeah. I can do that."  
  
Kiyoshi waited for his sister to jump up first, then he followed. When they were both safely up, they looked down at the fog. The ground was now fully covered by it and too dense to see through.  
  
"Kiyoshi... Didn't Mom and Dad tell us about something like this before? What was it called?"  
  
Kiyoshi frowned. "You're right. I can't remember, though."  
  
"I remember them saying it was bad, though." Aiko looked down at the purple cloud. "They said it was poisonous."  
  
"Yeah. I remember that part." Kiyoshi looked at Aiko. "Now what?"  
  
"Well-" Aiko started, but was interrupted but a soft rumble. She looked at Kiyoshi. "What was that?"  
  
Another soft rumble fell. Then another. Kiyoshi paled. "They're foot steps."  
  
He grabbed Aiko's hand and backed away from the edge and pressed themselves against the wall. Within moments, the room was filled with a loud roar. Kiyoshi an Aiko cried out and covered their ears, trying to block out the deafening roar. When the cry died down, Kiyoshi uncovered his ears. He looked at the back of the cave, and waited. The cry was familiar to him. He knew what had made the noise. He looked at Aiko and saw that she knew too.  
  
The large demon that had destroyed their home lumbered in. It was eye level to the ledge they were on, so it saw them immediately. I came toward them and roared again, causing the twins to cover their ears again. They cried out in pain at the loud noise and fell to their knees.  
  
~*~*~  
  
"What's happening to them?" Kagome cried out as she watched her children falling to their knees and crying out as they covered their ears. "Inuyasha what's happening to them?"  
  
Inuyasha watched them intently. Whatever was happening to them was hurting them. He swore silently that he'd kill whoever was behind this.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Kiyoshi forced himself up, blocking Aiko behind him. The big demon looked at him, his red glazed eyes glittering maliciously. "GIVE ME THE SHIKON NO TAMA."  
  
Kiyoshi cringed at the booming voice. "We don't have it!" He shouted back at the demon.  
  
"DO NOT LIE TO ME!!! I WILL RIP YOU TO SHREDS AND FIND IT MYSELF IF YOU DO NOT HAND IT OVER NOW!!!"  
  
Kiyoshi slammed his hands over his ears, trying to protect them from the force of the demon's voice. "Why do you want it?" He yelled back.  
  
"MY MASTER NEEDS IT, AND I WILL GET IT FOR HIM. GIVE IT TO ME, NOW!!! MY MASTER WANTS IT!!!"  
  
Kiyoshi cried out as the demon roared. He fell to his knees clutching his head. He looked over at at Aiko, who was also laying on the ground, covering her ears.  
  
Suddenly, the demon stopped screaming. Kiyoshi looked up and was stunned to see the demon frozen in place. Standing in front of him, was a beautiful woman.  
  
Kiyoshi quickly scrambled up to his feet, pulling Aiko with him. He didn't know what to make of this beautiful woman. "Who are you?"  
  
The woman smiled. "I am Kagura. You do not have a lot of time little ones. You must get out of the cave immediately. The demon will kill you."  
  
"Kagura?" Aiko looked at her suspiciously. She knew that name from somewhere.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Inuyasha gasped. "Kagura?! She's dead!" He looked over at Kouga. Kouga's hands were tightened into fists. He had been the one to kill Kagura.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Kiyoshi stared at the woman. "We can't get out of the cave."  
  
"Yes you can. It's just an illusion. The ground it still there. You must believe that if you are to escape. Believe me, this demon doesn't care about your lives." Kagura took on a pained expression. "I don't have much time left. The demon will overpower me again soon. You must leave now."  
  
Before Kiyoshi or Aiko could say another word, Kagura disappeared. The roaring resounded through the cave, causing the twins to cry out in pain again.  
  
"GIVE ME THE JEWEL!!!"  
  
Kiyoshi looked up into the demon's eyes. Then towards the exit. They would never both make it out. "Aiko..." He looked over his shoulder at his sister.  
  
Aiko knew what Kiyoshi was planning. "No, don't you dare even think it!"  
  
"It's the only way." Kiyoshi turned back towards the beast. "Aiko, promise you will be careful."  
  
"Kiyoshi, no! No, you can't!"  
  
"Protect the jewel. It's what is important." Kiyoshi took up a battle stance, mimicking his father. He held up this knife. "Aiko, go!"  
  
Immediately, Kiyoshi launched himself at the demon. Aiko, with a sob, jumped off the ledge and flew through the entrance, her eyes closed so she couldn't see the illusion on the ground outside the cave.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Sesshoumaru took off out of the cave after the little girl, leaving Inuyasha and the others to watch Kiyoshi battle the unseen enemy. Shock had fallen over the others as they watched Kiyoshi. If it were truly an illusion, he should have flown through the spot where the demon was supposed to be, but Kiyoshi had hit something solid in midair and bounced off of it with is feet and landed back on the ledge in a crouching position.  
  
Inuyasha watched helplessly as his seven year old battled for his life.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Kiyoshi breathed heavily and he looked at the demon watching for signs of his next attack. It came in the way of a fist flying heavily at him. Kiyoshi jumped up to avoid it, landing nimbly on top of it. He launched himself back at the demon's face with his knife outstretched, burying it to the hilt into the demon's cheek.  
  
The demon roared in pain and grabbed Kiyoshi in his oversized hand and slammed him against the wall right above the ledge. The air in Kiyoshi's lungs rushed out of him and he saw stars floating before him.  
  
"GIVE ME THE JEWEL, BOY." The demon began to slowly squeeze Kiyoshi.  
  
~*~*~  
  
"Inuyasha! Do something!" screamed Kagome as she watched her son struggle to draw air into his lungs as he floated in mid air.  
  
Inuyasha and Kouga jumped up onto the ledge, but their was nothing they could do. They grabbed onto Kiyoshi, trying to find what was holding him up, but their was nothing.  
  
"Kiyoshi, breathe! Kiyoshi!" Inuyasha cried out in desperation. His son was suffocating and their was nothing he could do about it.  
  
Miroku searched the area for any signs of spells but didn't find anything, Sango was holding onto Kagome. They all stood by, helplessly looking at the young boy.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Kiyoshi tried to draw air into his lungs but the pressure on his chest was too much to fight. Suddenly, the pressure lessened. He fell to the ground gasping for breathe, coughing and choking.  
  
"GIVE ME THE JEWEL!!!"  
  
Kiyoshi cringed away from the booming voice, his head throbbing from the lack of oxygen. "Go to the devil, you filthy demon. Even if I had it, I wouldn't give it to you."  
  
The demon roared again and picked Kiyoshi up in his hand again. Kiyoshi met his stare. "I love you, Aiko... Be strong..." He whispered as the demon squeezed the breath out of him again. Kiyoshi's head rolled back as he lost consciousness.  
  
~*~*~  
  
"Kiyoshi!!!!" Inuyasha screamed as his son's eyes closed. He grabbed his son, trying desperately to breathe air into his lungs, but he was still suspended in air.   
  
Suddenly, Kiyoshi lifted higher and away from the ledge. Inuyasha stared at his son. If it had been an illusion, even as powerful as this one seemed to be, it should have ended when Kiyoshi lost consciousness. At least he hoped he had only lost consciousness.  
  
What the hell was going on?  
  
~*~*~  
  
Aiko ran as fast as she could away from the cave. Her heart hurt because of the sacrifice her brother had made for her. 'Don't die on me Kiyoshi, please. You can't leave me alone.'  
  
She ran as far and as fast as she could. She had to get as far away as she could before the demon came after her. But it wasn't long before she felt the thundering footfalls behind her.  
  
Aiko ran as hard as she could, desperate to get away, but unfortunately, she came to a cliff edge. Aiko gasped, stopping short of the cliff. 'It's probably another illusion.' She thought, as she stared down. But she couldn't be sure so she turned to run in another direction.  
  
She didn't make another step. The demon lumbered into view, holding Kiyoshi in his hand. Aiko stared in horror as her brother's head swayed lifelessly in the demons hand.   
  
The demon roared at her and went to stomp on her. Aiko closed her eyes, waiting for the foot to crush her, but someone grabbed her and they both tumbled away from the demon. Aiko gasped for breath as she tried to recover from the impact. She opened her eyes to see who had saved her and saw a boy no older than her standing in front of her.   
  
She watched as the boy drew his sword, which was much too big for him and move in front of the chasm. The demon roared in rage and dropped Kiyoshi to the ground. Aiko stood up and went to go to her brother, but the other boy stopped her.  
  
"Don't move! Just wait there!" The boy didn't look at her, but only at the demon. Aiko did as she was told.  
  
The demon growled and charged the boy. "I WILL KILL YOU FOR INTERFERING!" The demon moved to kick the boy, but the boy was faster. He darted under the demon's leg and stabbed his calf. The demon screamed in agony. It lost it's balance and fell over the edge of the cliff.  
  
Aiko stared at the boy. Who was he and why had he saved her? She watched him as he walked over to the cliff and looked down. When he was satisfied that the demon was gone, he turned toward her.  
  
"Umm... Thank you for saving me." Aiko offered him a shy smile.  
  
The boy walked over to her. "Are you hurt?"  
  
"No. I'm fine, thanks to you." She smiled at the boy. He had short, black, curly hair and red eyes.  
  
He smiled at her. "I'm glad." He touched her cheek. The boy surprised her then by pushing her onto the ground, covering her body with his and pinning her arms over her head.  
  
"What are you doing? Let go!" Aiko's eyes were round with shock. She struggled to get up from under him, but he shushed her.  
  
"Shhhh... Just relax, this is almost over..." Aiko stilled under him, fear taking hold of her.  
  
"Please... Let me go..." She whimpered. She felt him smile against her throat just before he bit deeply into her neck. She cried out, straining her arms against his grip. Soon, her struggles ceased and she lost consciousness.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Kagome cried out as she watched her daughter fade. She tried to run to her, but Sesshoumaru stopped her. "There's nothing you can do. Wait."  
  
Inuyasha looked helplessly at his daughter's tiny form. The blood soaked her clothing as it ran down her neck.  
  
They all watched as her limp form lifted into the air and floated over to her brother. There, she was let down. As they watched, a figure became solid in front of them. It stood up from next to Aiko and Kiyoshi and turned toward them.   
  
Shock took hold of the group as they stared at Naraku. He smiled. "For you." He said as he faded away into nothing.  
  
Kagome looked at Inuyasha, then ran to her children. She was followed by the rest of the group.  
  
Kagome examined Aiko's throat where she'd been bitten. She covered it with her hand and used her miko powers to heal the wound. She turned and looked at Inuyasha, who was standing next to Sesshoumaru a short distance away, talking in a hushed voice.  
  
"He must have had this planned for a long time. He orchestrated it perfectly. I'm sure he waited until you arrived to put on his performance." Sesshoumaru looked over his brother.  
  
"Damn him. How did he do this? He's dead. We all saw to it." Inuyasha started to pace.  
  
Miroku looked at him. "You know he has a fondness for games. He must have been working on them for years in order to have such a strong connection with them that he could actually touch them without having a body."  
  
"What are you saying? That this isn't over?" Kagome looked Miroku straight in the eyes.  
  
Miroku nodded solemnly. Kagome closed her eyes.  
  
Sesshoumaru looked at Inuyasha. "She's your mate. You need to tell her."  
  
"Tell me what?"  
  
Inuyasha looked at Sesshoumaru for a moment, then turned towards his mate. "Naraku... He marked Aiko."  
  
"You mean the bite? I healed that."  
  
"Yes, but their's a scar."  
  
"So?"  
  
"So..." Inuyasha sighed. "Kagome, he marked her his mate. That bite won't go away. It's his way of telling us he's coming back to take her away from us."  
  
Kagome gasped. "No, Inuyasha no! She's only seven! He can't have marked her!"  
  
"Well, I didn't see her looking up, did you?"  
  
"What are you talking about?"  
  
"I mean, when she was talking to him, she was talking eye level with him. That means to her, he's her age. Which means he's planning on growing up along side her and Kiyoshi. So she won't feel that their's anything wrong with it when he comes for her."  
  
"Oh, God, Inuyasha..." Kagome covered her face with her hands. "We have to-" Kagome stopped when she heard a soft moan. She turned toward her children and saw that Aiko was awake.  
  
"Don't go to her. They might still be in his illusion."  
  
Kagome watched as Aiko rubbed her neck where she was bit. She blinked a few times, then looked down at her brother. Aiko gasped and tried to shake him awake. "Kiyoshi, Kiyoshi! Wake up! Please, wake up!"  
  
Kiyoshi groaned and squeezed his eyes shut. "Aiko?"  
  
Aiko sighed in relief and threw herself onto her brother. He yelped. "What are you doing! Get off of me!"  
  
Aiko giggled, feeling as if it were almost like old times. It was sad to think that "old times" were less than a week ago. She sighed and sat up. "The demon's gone. We were saved by a strange boy."  
  
Kiyoshi sat up and rubbed his temples. "Really? Where is he?"  
  
"I don't know. I thought he bit me on the neck, but their's no wound. I passed out, I think."  
  
"Bit you? Why'd he do that?"  
  
"I don't know." Aiko sighed. She looked around her and stopped when she saw her parents. "Kiyoshi..."  
  
"What?"  
  
When she didn't move, he followed her line of sight and gasped. "What...?"  
  
"Are they real, Kiyoshi?"  
  
"I'm seeing them." The twins looked at each other, then back at their family. "Mom? Dad?"  
  
Kagome cried out and ran to her children. "It's me, babies. I swear, it's me."  
  
She wrapped her arms around them, hugging them fiercely. It took a moment for them to respond. Inuyasha came over and hugged them too, as their children sobbed into their arms.  
  
"Mom, I saw you! You were dead! Dad! You, too! How are you alive?" Kiyoshi lifted his tear stained face to look at his father.  
  
"It's a long story that we'll figure out later."  
  
"The babies? What about them?"  
  
"They're okay. Don't worry, everyone's okay." With this bit of comfort the two children sobbed in relief into their parents arms, letting the horrors of the evening wash away with their tears.  
  
They cried themselves to sleep. Sango and Miroku went to get the other children to bring them to their new camp, and in the morning they all headed back to their home.  
  
When they reached the village, everyone there was rejoiced to see them all back safe and sound. The munchkins all ran off to greet their friends and play. Sesshoumaru had a few private words with Inuyasha before he left for the West Lands.  
  
"What was all that about?" Kagome asked as they walked into their newly built home.  
  
"Sesshoumaru thinks it's best if we send Aiko and Kiyoshi to live in the West Lands with him for a while."  
  
Kagome stopped short. "What?"  
  
"I agree."  
  
"What?!"  
  
"Kagome. They need to learn how to defend themselves against Naraku. We can't teach them all the things they need to know. And what about the other munchkins? We can't neglect them to teach the twins. Sesshoumaru is better equipped to help them."  
  
"Inuyasha, they're only seven. Can't they be children a little longer?"  
  
"Naraku is going to come for them and we don't know when. They need to be prepared for when that happens." Inuyasha sighed. "Sesshoumaru is going to come here to take them. Not for a few months at least. He said he needs to prepare."  
  
Kagome stood there for a moment. "I really hate this Inuyasha."  
  
Inuyasha wrapped his arms around Kagome. "I do too."  
  
"Let's tell them, then."  
  
~*~*~  
  
Six months went by before Sesshoumaru stood before his brother's home. He watched silently as the children played tag. Teito was toddling around now, giggling as he tried to catch the older children. And the older children ran around laughing as the "it" tried to tag someone. Aiko was the first to notice Sesshoumaru. Her smile faded a bit, and she looked at Kiyoshi. He followed her gaze and his smile faded too.  
  
Both children walked over to their hose and went inside. A few minutes later, Kagome, Inuyasha, Sango and Miroku came out.   
  
"Sesshoumaru, They'll be out in a moment. They went to get their bags." Kagome said. She looked saddened. She rubbed her swollen stomach as she and Sango walked back into the house.  
  
Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow. "Do not tell me she's carrying pups again."  
  
Inuyasha gave him a sour look. "Yes, she's pregnant. You're just jealous because you don't have any of your own."  
  
"Inuyasha, you have enough for the both of us."  
  
Miroku choked and turned away. Inuyasha hit the back of his head. "Don't laugh. Sango's pregnant too. And Kagome told me she said she won't let you touch her ever again."  
  
Miroku gave him a sour look. But before he could reply, Aiko and Kiyoshi came out. They were followed by Kagome and Sango. All the little munchkins came running over to say goodbye.  
  
When all the hugs and kisses were done, Kiyoshi and Aiko climbed into the dragon drawn carriage. They waved out the window until their family was out of sight.  
  
Sesshoumaru looked at them for a moment. "Are you not upset?"  
  
"Only a little. We'll miss them, but we need to learn this stuff." Kiyoshi said. "I don't want him to hurt us again."  
  
Sesshoumaru nodded. He'd never say so out loud, but he was proud of Inuyasha for the way he raised his children. And he was proud to call these two his Niece and Nephew.  
  
~*~*~  
  
^^;; Please, don't kill me. Remember WAY back when I started this??? I said that this was a 3 parter series??? Yup! One more story to go!!! ...... Not that I know what I'm going to call it yet or anything.... ^^;;   
  
I know I didn't describe this very well either. I need to work on this part a little bit more before I can say that I'm happy with it, but in the mean time, if you have any questions about it, feel free to ask. (This way I know what I need to put in this part to fix it!) I know I probably left a few unanswered questions, but I've been writing this part for 5 hours now, and I can't tell what I even wrote any more. ^^;;  
  
LoL - And in response to a post about this story in my group, INUYASHA AND KAGOME HAVE ONLY BEEN PREGNANT 4 TIMES, including this last one. ^__^ First, they had twins, then triplets, then only one. that's 6. They Average 2 babies per pregnancy. LMAO!!! This person said they needed a TV... But I don't think so!!! Sango's been pregnant 4 times now too!!! :P 


End file.
